


No Ordinary Swim Club

by marsistrash



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Gen, H2O: Just Add Water - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-02-03 16:50:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1751726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsistrash/pseuds/marsistrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“We’re mermaids!” Nagisa shrieks in delight.</p><p>“This is impossible!” Rei snaps. “And even if it were, we would be mermen, not mermaids!”<br/>“I’m a merman!” Nagisa yells, undeterred.</p><p>(this is free/h2o: just add water crossover. so like, mermaids, wow.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Ordinary Swim Club

**Author's Note:**

> honestly im sort of surprised at the general lack of h2o crossovers on here in general but i guess even if youre not familiar with the show free + mermaids is great and the whole lost on a deserted island for a night was too good to pass up  
> (h2o is/was this australian kids tv show about these girls who wind up on a deserted island for a night and then they get special mermaid powers its the precursor to mako mermaids i guess)  
> this takes place p much entirely during shocking no breathing and the whole rest house part is in theory the same just slightly later  
> ya idk anything about volcanos or tides so that is just totally all a guess/basically from ep 1 of h2o  
> the title is from the greatest tv opening ever aka no ordinary girl - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG4vriJ-vQM (warnings for open water and fire and lightning and food and drink)  
> also all the relationships are p much just implied fyi/fwiw but like. yeah  
> and this isnt exactly betad i just sort of read it out loud to myself (ya it was embarrassing thx)  
> this note is too long i should stop now

The path up to the rest house requires them to cut through the dense underbrush that begins a hundred metres from the shore, the poor excuse for a trail littered with fallen leaves and small branches. The light of the moon is filtered out as they walk beneath even thicker tree cover, and Nagisa finds himself tripping over every branch on the path and (mostly without thinking) grabbing Rei’s arm to steady himself. Rei scowls and complains gently every single time, but it is dark and they’re on a deserted island, so Nagisa is very grateful that he doesn’t just shove him off and make him walk by himself.

Though they’re not quite a meter ahead, he can barely make out Haru and Makoto walking next to each. He’s not quite sure in the darkness, but Nagisa’s pretty sure that every time Makoto looks like he’s about to trip, Haru’s arm stops hovering in the vicinity of Makoto’s lower back and shoots to grab his arm if he falls. Nagisa isn’t as close with Haru as Makoto is, but he knows that Haru is probably still pretty shaken up after their nerve-shattering swim to the island. Even if he couldn’t hear them, it was clear that they were having some kind of important conversation on the beach earlier, and Nagisa didn’t really mean to interrupt them--it’s just seeing your friends alive and together after a near death experience makes it hard to do anything but scream their names and run to them, relief in every breath you take.

Nagisa pulls himself out of his reverie in time to notice that the sky is opening up over them, and the rocky banks of a small waterfall stretch out in front of them. It’s not very tall--maybe two meters--but the rock is all smooth and slick with rain water, and they’re going to have to jump down to the other bank if they want to get to the rest house.

“I think we’re going to have to jump,” Makoto says apologetically. “It doesn’t look like there’s any other way to cross, and I don’t want to try climbing down when it’s this dark.”

Haru looks over to the other side and nods. “It’s alright; it’s not very far.”

Makoto turns back to him to respond, but Haru’s getting ready to jump and has already landed before he acknowledges Makoto’s half-hearted cry of “Haru!” Makoto just sighs and shakes his head, smiling fondly.

“You two go first,” he tells Nagisa and Rei. Nagisa nods and grabs Rei’s arm to drag him up to the edge of the bank. He’s probably rolling his eyes, but still he follows Nagisa, both to the rock’s edge and then over the waterfall to the other side.

Nagisa and Rei crouch down next to Haru, waiting for Makoto. It’s at this moment that the rain, which had slowed to a very light drizzle, choses to pick up once more.

“Come on, Mako-chan! Before it gets too slippery!” Nagisa calls.

Makoto quickly gets ready to jump across, but the rain is falling heavily now, and a sudden streak of lightening above startles him, and he falls--

“Makoto!” Haru is on his feet in an instant, and is soon joined by Rei and Nagisa, all trying to see where Makoto fell. Their voices clamor together, desperately hoping that he’s okay.

There’s a sizeable hole in the rock, and Makoto’s voice carries up through it.

“I’m okay--”

They all sigh in relief, and Haru opens his mouth to reply--

“But I twisted my ankle a little bit; I don’t think I can climb back up!”

Haru immediately jumps back across and down into the hole before Rei and Nagisa can yell at him to stop. They stand in the pouring rain for a long moment, looking at each other, before they too scramble over to follow.

Once inside the hole, it’s not a very long slide--it’s almost like a tunnel--before they hit the sand below them. Makoto and Haru are both there, Makoto’s face screwed up in pain as Haru presses his ankle. While Rei is gingerly attempting to brush the sand off of his damp body and swimsuit, Nagisa has already made his way over to the other two and is anxiously crouching over them.

“Mako-chan, are you okay?” he asks, heartbeat thudding loudly in his ears.

“I’m fine; it’s only a sprain,” Makoto replies. Nagisa pretends not to notice the tears welling up in Makoto’s eyes and turns away to look around them.

It’s a small cavern, the floor only just wide enough for them to sit like this, and the ceiling is tall enough for Nagisa to stand comfortably--it is not tall enough for anyone else to, as Rei quickly proves in standing up without thinking. Nagisa giggles at him when he hits his head and yelps, but he’s more concerned about finding a way out of the cavern right now. There doesn’t seem to be, but there is a sort of natural flight of stairs at the other side, which he immediately heads over to.

“Hey! I think we should see what’s up here!” he calls to the others and dashes up them without waiting for a response. Even if they don’t follow him--and they will--it’s not like he’s going to have trouble finding them.

As he stands at the top of the stairs, he can hear movement below as they do, in fact, follow him, but he’s too distracted by his new surroundings to give it much thought. Half a meter in front of him is a pool of water, something that would be entirely unremarkable if not for the way that the starry sky above is reflected through the open roof of the cave. He gapes in awe at the beauty of the sparkling water and the crystals circling the pool.

“Nagisa, if you could move out of the way--” Makoto’s voice interrupts him and he moves aside to let Makoto, assisted by Haru, up the last step and into the cave; Rei follows closely behind.

Makoto gasps, taking in his surroundings. Haru seems to be inching toward the pool, but still remains on the shore for the moment to help Makoto sit down. The ceiling is higher here, allowing Rei to walk freely around, examining the walls and ceiling.

“It seems to be some kind of volcano,” he says, trailing a hand over the crystals on the walls.

“Ooh! Do you think it’ll erupt?” Nagisa asks, running over to him.

He scoffs. “Of course not, it’s been dormant for 20,000 years.”

Nagisa huffs, preparing to get into an argument, when Haru crouches by the edge of the pool.

“There are tide lines,” he says.

“Ah!” Makoto exhales sharply.

Haru makes eye contact with him and nods. “It’s connected to the ocean--”

“So there’s probably a way out through the pool,” Makoto finishes.

Haru, no longer holding Makoto upright, slides into the pool and under the water.

Rei gasps and leans over the pool looking panicked.

“Is he going to be okay?” he asks Makoto. “It’s dark and it’s raining--”

“No it isn’t!” Nagisa realises, looking up to the sky again. “It’s all clear right now, and the moon’s so bright!”

Makoto smiles weakly at Rei. “I’m sure Haru will be fine.”

Nagisa hears the slight quiver in Makoto’s voice and hopes that Haru will be back soon--and just as he thinks this, Haru’s head is breaking through the water’s surface.

“It’s an easy 20 second swim out to the open water, and it lets out on the beach right next to the rest house. The outlet is pretty wide; we could all fit together comfortably.”

There’s a collective sigh of relief as Haru treads water in front of them, but Makoto winces a little at the mention of open water. Haru notices right away, of course, and opens his mouth to say something, but Makoto speaks before he can.

“In that case, we should probably try to get over to the rest house.”

“Makoto,” Haru murmurs, reaching over to place a hand on Makoto’s knee.

“It’s okay, Haru,” he responds, his fingers sliding gently over Haru’s and an expression of indescribable softness sliding over his face. Haru coughs quietly and Makoto jumps, as if he had momentarily forgotten where they are. He smiles again, a normal smile this time, and clears his throat. “I think we should go now, while it’s not raining and while the moon is still so bright. Besides, it’s high tide now, and we don’t know how easy it will be to swim out when the tide is lower.”

Haru doesn’t look entirely convinced, but still he nods and squeezes Makoto’s hand once before Makoto lets himself be pulled into the water. Nagisa scrambles up to the pool and slides in, leaving Rei alone on the sand.

“Rei-chan, come on!” Nagisa calls, reaching up to him.

Rei looks torn; he starts moving toward the water, but stops and shakes his head.

“I’m not--I don’t kn--”

“Rei-chan!”

“Rei,” Haru says.

Rei sighs and stares at the water.

Makoto smiles and reaches a hand up to him. “It’ll be fine, Rei. All four of us are here.”

“And there’s no other way to get out,” Nagisa adds, pouting.

Rei sighs again, but he hesitantly moves up to the pool’s edge and slides into the water. Nagisa cheers and hugs him. Rei scowls but returns the hug just as strongly. Nagisa can feel Rei’s heart pounding as they hug, before Rei breaks away, blushing.

The full moon glides over the volcano’s mouth, illuminating them all in its pale light. The cave’s water and crystals all seem to shine even more brightly, and when the water begins to bubble around them, Nagisa knows it’s not just the moonlight. Rei gasps and grabs his arm, both--no, all four--of them gazing in awe at the moon and the crystals.

“Amazing,” Nagisa breathes.

“Eerie,” Rei mutters, looking at the churning water.

But it’s slowing now, and Haru turns to Rei to firmly say, “Concentrate. Take a deep breath and hold onto Nagisa if you’re worried about losing your way.”

Rei blushes again but nods and draws in a long breath. They all dive under.

 

* * *

 

The next morning they emerge from the rest house just after sunrise and immediately run down to the beach.

“Let’s race!” Nagisa yells, plunging into the water. He’s only made it a few meters when he stops, a strange sensation taking him over--his legs tingle and, for a brief instant, he can’t feel them at all. When he looks down at his legs, there’s a scaly, orange tail in their place. He shrieks.

“Nagisa? Are you alright?” Makoto asks, wading toward him, and falling immediately as his legs turn into a fishtail.

Haru is a couple meters ahead of them, also staring at his legs in confusion, and Rei, too, though having only taken one step into the water, is lying on the sand with a tail.

“We’re mermaids!” Nagisa shrieks in delight.

“This is impossible!” Rei snaps. “And even if it were, we would be mermen, not mermaids!”

“I’m a merman!” Nagisa yells, undeterred.

Makoto laughs in disbelief, while Haru is already swimming again, adjusting his stroke to the tail.

“We should probably swim back before Kou and Ama-chan wake up,” Makoto says. “And I don’t think these are going to make it any harder for us to swim….”

Nagisa giggles and again yells, “Let’s race!”

* * *

  
  


As Rin jogs along the beach that morning, he hears shouts way out in the water. He turns to look, and of course it’s the Iwatobi Swim Club--what are they doing now?

He’s about to ignore it and get back to his run, when he sees something orange splashing in the water, attached to--is that a tail? It looks like a tail. Like a mermaid tail.

He shakes his head and picks up the pace. It’s just the distance or a trick of the light.


End file.
